


The D-word

by RatTale



Category: The Greatest Showman (2017)
Genre: Angst, Bennett is a BAMF, Cotton Candy is puffs of heaven, Father-Daughter Relationship, Friendship, Gen, Helen is a sweetie, Humour, Hurt/Comfort, I love Helen, Kidnapped, Told through a child's perspective, saved - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-05
Updated: 2020-11-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:28:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27400465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RatTale/pseuds/RatTale
Summary: Helen Barnum had decided a long time ago the best part of the Circus was the cotton candy. So when a man in the shadows promises her the best puffs in the world, how in the world can she say no?
Comments: 3
Kudos: 16





	The D-word

**Author's Note:**

> This has no beta reader, and was seriously written on a whim. I loved writing about Helen in my previous story, Sensational. This is more or less just a bit of fun, nothing too serious.
> 
> (Also I have no idea when Cotton Candy became a thing, it's just something I associate with the Circus and so I wanted it in here :) )
> 
> But I hope it's still enjoyable :)

The D word

Helen Barnum had decided, after much thought and experimentation of the grandest sort, that the best part of the Circus was the Cotton Candy Stall. The reasons being, 1) it in fact made cotton candy and 2) she ask Mommy to buy some.

The first realisation of this glorious fact was made after she had bitten into her first bright pink puff on the first night they’d pitched the big tent on the green. The wonderful bliss of pink softness melting on her tongue had sent her toes curling and her eyes fluttering close. It was heavenly! Perfect in every way! However, her father had taught her thoroughness and to be absolutely certain she had found the best stall, she had tested the theory. She had tried the popcorn stall, the corndog stall, the candy stall and even the peanut stall. But nothing, she had finally decided with some authority on the issue, garnered more joy than a big pink puff all to herself.

Helen Barnum’s biggest dream at this point was to open a Cotton Candy Stall all for herself. Both her parents approved and Caroline was even willing to help with the _showmanship_. Every stall needed good _showmanship_. That’s what Daddy says.

Tonight, had been a wonderful show. Daddy had even brought in a white elephant! And everyone, including Helen had loved it.

Currently, the big tent was being cleared. Helen could see Phillip at the entrance, he was waving at all their customers, thanking them for coming to watch and telling them to come again. Helen never understood that part, why would he have to tell them that? Doesn’t everyone want to come again? Daddy was standing close by Phillip, Mommy said he needed to speak to him and so now they were standing on the side by the seats waiting for Daddy. Shifting her feet a little, Helen looked up, “Mommy, can I get some cotton candy?”

Mommy looked down with a light smile, “I suppose your father will be a while, won’t he? Do you want some cotton candy, Caroline?”

Her sister nodded quickly, she liked Cotton Candy too, but not as much as Helen did. She was sure of it. Mommy waved at their father who quickly waved back with his usual bright smile. Outside the big tent it was quite cold. Helen gasped a little and gripped Mommy’s hand a little tighter.

There were always so many people. Children, adults and old people, so many different types came to enjoy their show. Helen always liked the big crowds. There was always a sort of magic in the air outside the tent. Crisp and wonderful.

“Helen?”

She looked up. They were standing at the Cotton Candy Stall; a friendly old man was smiling down at her.

“What colour, dear? Pink or blue?”

“Pink, please Mr. Rothberg.”

His face wrinkled into a wide smile. “She’s my best customer, and so polite I will have to give the two girls the biggest I can make them.”

“You spoil them, Mr. Rothberg.” Mommy said, but Helen felt a wave of relief when she didn’t stop him. A moment later she was handed a wonderful pink fluffy ball of pure bliss. Helen licked her lips and quickly bit into the sweetness. Her toes curling from the wonderful taste.

“Oh mommy! Look!”

Helen turned just as Caroline ran over to a stall filled up with music boxes. Mommy quickly followed her, with Helen trailing behind, absorbed in her little piece of heaven. Caroline could have all the music boxes in the world, as long as Helen could still have some cotton candy.

“That’s a big puff.”

Helen swallowed down a piece and turned. A tall gentleman was standing in between the stalls. He was smiling at her, his cap pulled a low over his eyes. “Mmhm,” she nodded, “Mr. Rothberg gave me the biggest one he could.”

“Well isn’t that nice of him,” he went on his haunches, “Ya know, I know a man who makes the best cotton candy in the whole of New York.”

Helen’s eyes widened, her heart leapt. “You do?”

“Sure do,” he said, his smile becoming wider, “He can make any colour you want too, from green to blue to purple, even a rainbow one!”

She squeeled with glee, “I want to meet him!”

“His stall is packed up, but he’s just behind here, you can meet him and then next time you come to the Circus, you can just ask for him. I’m sure he’ll give you an even bigger puff, if you ask nicely.”

Even better and _bigger_ cotton candy? There wasn’t a reason on earth why she should say no. She took one step and then stopped, her eyes drawn to where her Mommy and Caroline were still picking out a music box.

“Won’t be a moment, love.”

She turned back. He was still smiling, friendly and kind, holding his hand out for her to take. It won’t be long, she reasoned, and next week she can get even more! In a _rainbow_ colour! Biting into her puff, she took his hand and he led her to the back of the stalls onto the green where the light couldn’t quite reach.

They walked a few steps, Helen swung her head eagerly left and right, searching through the darkness to find the candy man. “Where is he?”

A large hand gripped over her mouth, pressing her into his chest moments before another wrapped around her waist, pinning her arms to her sides and lifting her from the ground. Helen tried to scream. Fear making her kick and struggle, trying to break free of the hard grip. _No! Put me down! I don’t like this!_ Please _, put me down!_ _Daddy help me_! It was getting darker and darker the further they ran away from the circus.

Let me go! Helen thought, kicking wildly.

“Ah you little shit! Stop yer struggling!”

They reached a road and Helen started to cry, she was scared, she didn’t want to be here _, I want Mommy_!

“Put her down, Mr. Blake.”

He stopped. Helen gasped and hiccupped around the hand. She cracked open her eyes. Just beyond the pool of light cast by the lamppost, stood a dark figure. Helen hiccupped and cried, wishing the man would put her down. It hurt! 

“Get the fuck out of my way!”

Click. “I said, put her down.” The barrel of a gun pressed into the light. Helen’s eyes widened, her breath becoming erratic.

Mr. Blake laughed, “You wouldn’t risk it. Shoot at me and you might hit –“ he raised her up a little, his grip tightening, making her wince in pain. “The little one.”

“I’ve had a rough week Mr. Blake,” the man responded, stepping into the light, “Don’t try and assume what I will and will not risk.”

He chuckled, “Then give it your best – “

The shot clapped. Helen screamed a moment before she hit the ground. Behind her the man cursed wildly, she heard him stagger and fall before he ran off, his footfalls swallowed by the dark. For a long moment it was quiet with only Helen’s sobs loud and fierce. Her hands and knees scraped raw where they’d hit the dirt road. Her heart stuttered, her body shook as she gasped and cried. A gentle hand touched her shoulder and she looked up through blurred tears.

It was Mr. Bennett. He looked worried, his expression soft and kind. “Are you all right, Miss Barnum?”

Instantly she shook her head and crawled towards him. Mr. Bennett opened his arms and pulled her close, holding her tightly against his chest. Helen cried and cried, until her throat was painful. Mr. Bennett didn’t say much, he just held her until she finally calmed.

“I want _mommy_ ,” she finally managed.

“Then we should go find her.” He said, smiling down at her.

She sniffled, and looked around at the road, at how far the tent was. Her heart sank. “But _how_ will you find her?”

Bennett hugged her close one more time before letting go. It was cold! He stood, briefly dusting off his clothes, “I found you. I’m sure between the two of us, we will find her.”

Sniffing once more she held out her hand and Bennett took it, starting towards the big tent. Helen couldn’t believe how far away they were. The tent looked so small. The walk was quiet, Helen thinking quietly to herself of what had happened. Now that she wasn’t scared anymore, she wondered exactly who the man had been. She peeked up at Mr. Bennett who looked quite severe. “Was his name Mr. Blake?”

“Yes,” said Bennett without looking down. “Mr. Blake is a deviant. I will file a report tomorrow with the police.”

Police. He sounded like a bad man, she frowned, suddenly not so sure. “Mr. Blake said he wanted me to meet the best cotton candy man in the world.”

Bennett glanced down at her, but kept walking. Helen looked at her shoes. “He said I would get bigger puffs.” She frowned, “But then he grabbed me. Why did he grab me?”

Taking a deep breath Bennett answered if a low voice, “I will let your father tell you one day, when you are older.”

“Mmm.” They continued walking, “I dropped mine, you know.”

“Mm?”

“My cotton candy.” She said, “I dropped mine when he grabbed me. It was still a full puff.”

There was a pause, then a long sigh. “We will make a short detour.”

Ten minutes later, Helen had another big puff in her hand, if she had to guess it was even bigger than before! Mr. Bennett had told Mr. Rothberg that she had been very brave and had deserved a little something extra. Mr. Rothberg had been happy to give her a new puff, but hadn’t seemed to happy about Mr. Bennett. Glancing up she peered intently at him. He _looked_ quite nice, he’d helped her, and gotten her more cotton candy, but why did Daddy say he was bad? Why did Daddy call him the d-word?

“Didn’t your father tell you it’s rude to stare.”

Unperturbed Helen continued staring, “Daddy says you’re the D-word.”

“Oh?” Mr. Bennett paused to look down at her, “And what is the D-word?”

Helen opened her mouth but stopped, “Daddy says I’m not allowed to use that word.”

“No worries. Your daddy is a right B-word.”

“What is the B-word?”

Bennett smiled, “I’ll let your father tell you.” Looking around at their current surroundings he started walking again, pulling her closer to the entrance of the tent, which still seemed so far. “Speaking of which, I think he would like to know where you are.”

Mister Bennett’s hand was warm, rough but warm. Helen liked being with him, Daddy didn’t like him all that much, but Helen found she quite liked Mister Bennett. They weaved in between the thinning crowds, making their steady way to the big top. Grass gave over to mud, and her stride began to slow. Her feet started to drag and her eyes began to droop.

Just as her head nodded again, two hands slid under her arms, “Come on,” she was lifted, “Up you go.” and settled against Mister Bennett’s chest. She snuggled into his shoulder and sighed happily. The motion and warm chest made her even more sleepy, and –

Helen woke to the sound of her father’s voice.

“…just some more fodder to throw at my family. I’m sure it would make for a perfect headline, ‘Barnum Humbug loses daughter at Circus.’ You have your story now get the hell off my property.”

“Phineas!” Mommy? Helen stirred. She was draped over Mommy’s shoulder. “He brought her back that is no way to behave!”

“I want him removed!” And then they were moving, away from Mr. Bennett. Helen looked at him where he stood on the green. She waved but Mr. Bennett didn’t respond, just turned and left when the oddities moved closer. Helen wished she’d thanked him.

* * *

She decided there was no better way to thank him than with a portrait. That was her _specialililtly_ after all. She took one of her better papers, got her good brushes and sat down on the carpet. After some consideration, Helen dipped her brush in a beautiful blue and started. First, she painted the sky, dark blue and speckled with white stars. Then she started on the big tent, red and white streaks, making sure to keep a space for herself and Mr. Bennett. With meticulous focus she made careful strokes, taking care to make his suit the same green he always wore. And also, his bowler hat.

Then she filled in herself, with her pretty dress, blonde hair and of course the biggest pink puff she’d ever had. After some careful artistic consideration, she painted a white elephant in the background. Lifting the still wet painting she held it up and smiled. Mr. Bennett will love it!

When she heard her father return, Helen grabbed her still moist painting and stormed down the stairs to greet him. “Daddy!” Helen ran straight towards him, barely stopping before careening into his legs. Her father laughed his big and bright laugh, staggering a little.

“Hello to you my angel!” he said, pecking her on the head. “Did you paint something?”

“Mmhm!” she held out her picture and Daddy took it with a smile.

“Now whoever could this be? Glasses, bowler, boring dress sense. It must be Mr. D!”

“Mr. Bennett!” Helen laughed. “I made it for him!”

“Ah!” Daddy went on his haunches, “And why are we making paintings for Mr. Bennett?”

“To thank him.” She said, “For saving me from the bad man.”

Daddy’s smile fell, “What bad man?”

“The one who told me about the cotton candy,” Helen said as patiently as she could. Didn’t daddy know about this? “He told me about the best cotton candy in the world, but then grabbed me and carried me a very long way. So far away that the tent looked tiny! Mr. Bennett made him put me down, I hurt my hands when I landed. See? And Mr. Bennett even shot him! Kablam!”

Daddy didn’t look fierce anymore. His face was quite pale, his eyes wide and lips drawn tight. Helen swallowed, “Daddy?”

Without a word he pulled her closer, holding her tight to his chest, and Helen wondered what the matter was and if perhaps she had done something wrong.

Later that morning, Helen along with a put-out daddy and happy Mommy were sitting outside of Mr. Bennett’s office. The picture, now dried and even put into a nice brown envelope was sitting on her lap. Helen swung her little blue shoes, wondering if she could convince Mommy and Daddy to get her new pink ones. She liked pink.

The door opened, “Mr. Bennett will see you know.”

They stood almost as one, Helen sliding off the chair and her hand into Mommy’s. The office inside was almost as big as daddy’s with so _many_ books. Behind a large desk, without his bowler or jacket, sat Mr. Bennett.

“Mr. Bennett!” Helen called, pulling loose from her mother’s grip and running to him.

“Helen, wait –“ but before her father could finish his sentence, Mr. Bennet had turned in his chair, opened his arms and scooped her up into his lap.

“Good morning to you Miss Barnum,” he said, and this close, Helen could see a small smile hiding under his beard. She wondered if that is why he had one, to stop people from seeing when he was laughing at them. Or perhaps hide what he was saying! She wished she could grow a beard. “To what do I owe the pleasure?” he turned this question to her parents.

Mommy looked at Daddy with a smile, who in turn seemed a little uncomfortable, but Helen held up her envelop, “I brought you a present Mr. Bennett!”

“Oh?” this close again she could see the smaller shifts in expression, he looked surprised.

“She told us what happened,” said Mommy, “We came by so she could give you her present, and so that we could thank you personally. Isn’t that right, darling?”

“Um, yes.” Answered her Daddy. Funny, the way Mommy sometimes said darling, it sounded an awful lot like the D-word Helen wasn’t supposed to say.

“I see,” he looked about as uncomfortable as Daddy.

Helen patted the envelope, “You have to open it Mr. Bennett!”

“What? Oh.” Shifting her a little he opened the lip and with great care slid out the picture. When it was in full view Helen turned a bright smile on him.

“That’s you, and that’s me with the big puff you got for me, and the tent, and over there is the new elephant Daddy brought in!” she pointed to each in turn, and then wrapped her arms around his neck “Thank you Mr. Bennett for saving me from the bad man. Mommy and Daddy are happy too!”

Mommy nodded, “We’re very grateful, Mr. Bennett. I cannot thank you enough for what you did. But I thought it best if we all at least did so personally.”

Mr. Bennett didn’t say anything for a long while, and when Helen pulled away his expression was so slack, she wondered if it might slide off. But then he swallowed, and blinked and the softest smile crept over his lips, “It’s very lovely, Miss Barnum. I thank you.”

From the other side of the desk her father laughed, “What no critique from an art critic?”

Mr. Bennett shrugged, and placed the painting on his desk before gently allowing Helen to slide off his lap to return to her parents. “You should know, Mr. Barnum, one cannot truly critique honest art.”

Daddy laughed again, “Then why do so with my Circus? It is certainly a form of art!”

“Yes, but there is nothing _honest_ about it, Mr. Barnum. Like the buckets of paint, I found near the animal stalls?” He stood, suddenly very serious, and Daddy a little too happy. “I would also like to thank you both for coming. I appreciate the sentiment and… you have a very lovely young daughter.”

Helen smiled, bouncing on her heals. Her Daddy nodded and then took a wide step closer to the desk, “And if it wasn’t for you, Mr. Bennett, we might not have her anymore.” He held out his hand and after some hesitation Bennett took it in a firm grip. Her Daddy smiled, softer this time. “I hope to see you at the Circus soon.”

Bennett rolled his eyes, but he too was smiling. “Only to fill a hole in my paper, Mr. Barnum. Which, hopefully will not happen soon.”

With a final goodbye they left, Helen making sure to wave at him before the door closed for good. They walked in relative silence back to the exit. Suddenly Helen had a thought, “Daddy?”

“Yes my darling?” her father asked, scooping her up into his arms as he did so.

“Is Mister Bennett still a d-word?” she asked, leaning back to look at him.

Daddy stared at her, smiled and said, “Well no. I think he’s upgraded to just a b-word.”

Helen giggled, “Mister Bennett says you’re a b-word too! What does it mean?”

Daddy didn’t look too happy, but Mommy was laughing so hard that Helen really didn’t mind upsetting him this time.


End file.
